A firm 20 years: Attorneys Hilton and Bishop mark a milestone

The law firm of Hilton & Bishop was formed 20 years ago in Falmouth as an estate planning and trust and estate administration law firm. Four attorneys currently are part of the practice. Founding partners Frederic H. Hilton and Jodee P. Bishop spoke to the Times as they celebrate the firm's anniversary.

By ROBERT GOLD

capecodtimes.com

By ROBERT GOLD

Posted Apr. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By ROBERT GOLD

Posted Apr. 6, 2014 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

The law firm of Hilton & Bishop was formed 20 years ago in Falmouth as an estate planning and trust and estate administration law firm. Four attorneys currently are part of the practice. Founding partners Frederic H. Hilton and Jodee P. Bishop spoke to the Times as they celebrate the firm's anniversary.

What's the most important thing your business does?

Bishop: When we first started, we consciously decided we would have a boutique type of practice and concentrate in the area of estate planning and trust and estate administration. I think probably 20 years ago that was a little bit of a risk.

Hilton: We didn't come down here to compete with the real estate bar, which was the basic support for most of the lawyers on the Cape. Almost all were real estate lawyers.

(The firm concentrates in estate and tax planning, charitable gift planning, trust and estate administration, planning for families owning closely held businesses and strategic advice for businesses and business owners).

How long have you been in business?

Bishop: We are celebrating our 20th year. We started in March of 1994. At that time, Fred and I spun off the Falmouth office of the firm we both were working for. It was then Hutchins, Wheeler & Ditmar, a Boston firm.

What did you do before?

Bishop: I trained there (at Hutchins, Wheeler & Ditmar) for six years (as an associate) after I finished law school.

Hilton: I was a partner there (in the Boston office of Hutchins, Wheeler & Ditmar) — 1948 was when I started with them.

How big was your staff when you started? How about now?

Bishop: When we started, it was just the two of us and two staff persons. And now we have four attorneys and two staff members. (Emily M. Kellndorfer and Kimberly P. Taylor are the other two attorneys.) We have stayed kind of lean and mean on purpose because we didn't want to have a big overhead to transfer to our clients.

How has the market changed since you started?

Bishop: Falmouth used to be retirees and summer people largely.

Hilton: You have always had the Woods Hole operations, which generates year-round residents — and some of them generate small businesses. All those ladies and gentlemen down there love to have something on the side because the oceanographic world doesn't pay big salaries.

Bishop: I think we are much more a year-round community now with younger families that own small businesses. We have had to evolve. We were planning for people that were retired and had made their money. Now we are planning for young families with children, and we've had to add business planning to our repertoire. We now have an attorney who does business law, so that has fit in well with our practice.

What are your plans for your business' future?

Bishop: We deal with an area of the practice where the law is constantly changing. So the tax law changes, it's complex. We have to stay up to date with all of that so we continue our education. We have to have a tool box which will serve our clients' needs and be able to offer them planning tools which they need for their particular circumstances.

What's the best thing about having a business on the Cape?

Hilton: We set out to organize a small firm and we kept it a small firm. This is a very pleasant place to work. There's a lot of laughing and shouting going on here. When when I go into the big offices, that is not going on. You have a lot of unhappy lawyers in the city. These are not unhappy lawyers. And it makes it nice to come to work.

Bishop: I agree. And it partly is the people we get to work with. The Cape is full of really interesting people who have led fascinating lives or are leading fascinating lives. We are all enriched with our associations with our clients, which makes our practice wonderful.

What's the biggest challenge to having a business on the Cape?

Bishop: We can have a lot of things going at the same time, given the nature of our practice. We are on the Cape, we are not in the city community. We have to stay current and we have to get continuing education. What has helped us in that regard is we can watch webinars from our office and get quality services. But having the resources is the most challenging. When you are in a city community, it is much easier to get information and help and here we are more isolated.

What has been the most memorable moment with the business?

Bishop: I think the fact that we found a model that works and we are still thriving. It is hard for a memorable moment. We must have a memorable moment, something that happened.

Hilton: That really is hard to pin down.

What advice do you have for someone starting a business on the Cape?

Bishop: I would give them the same advice we gave ourselves: Consciously choose the market or the audience you want to serve and do your absolute best to listen to your customers, to your clients — hear them and recognize what they need and give them the absolute best quality service you can.